BARNET has seen a sharp increase in the number of people calling London Ambulance Service with mental health concerns.

The calls have increased by more than 24 per cent in three years, data released by the service has shown.

A total of 5,714 calls were received from April 2014 to April 2015, compared with 4,591 in the same period from 2012 to 2013.

Published to mark World Mental Health Day today (October 10), the figures also show an increase of more than 18,000 mental health related emergency calls across London between 2012 to 2015.

Briony Sloper, Deputy Director of Nursing and Quality at London Ambulance Service, said “We’re committed to providing the best possible care for all of our patients, including those with mental health concerns.

“We’ve already taken key steps to improve the specialist response available for patients who call 999 with mental health concerns, by employing four specialist mental health nurses who work directly from our control room alongside call handlers.

“They are tasked with carrying out mental health assessments and working with patients to ensure they are able to access the right support in their local communities.”